I have found a small boutique shop that sells imported clothing items particularly from Thailand and Vietnam. The prices are so good because they are very cheap compared to imported items from other countries. Especially the Thai products, the quality are comparable to branded items. But I am not telling my colleagues yet because they think that my clothes are what I bought when I went to Thailand last month. Not only clothing items but some food stuff are also cheap coming from Thailand.
I have been online and have seen goods that have been made in Vietnam.The clothing looks attractive but the sizes pose a problem for me. I am wondering that if they are making goods for export that they couldn't make these to suit international requirements. It was a good thing that I was aware of the huge differential in the size specifications. Most Asians are usually smaller that their Western counterparts, which could be as much two sizes smaller. Therefore, because of the size uncertainty, which in many cases is not explained to, to the buyer, I tend to stay away from clothing produced in Asia.
Oh, pardon me for it is in Metro Manila. But anyway, it is a small boutique in Virra Mall, the commercial center in Greenhills where one of my offices is located. From the looks of it, the owner is a direct importer, meaning she goes to Thailand and Vietnam to see for herself what to buy. And then the store abroad would assist her in shipping the goods she bought. That looks like a good business because you get to travel once in a while. PS. Since I had been to Bangkok last month and to Vietnam late last year, I know that the markup in that boutique is not much.
@Corzhens, I see, it's a bit far from where I live, but who knows, I might go there in that area one of these days. Around what price range are the clothes?
In case you will be in Manila, just give me a message here and we can meet if you want. The casual wear like t-shirts and blouses are for 300 pesos, that's around $6 and the quality wear are for less than $10. There are also pants that go for less than $20 and some accessories that you will surely find cheaper. Mind you, Greenhills is an upscale commercial center.
We have some stores here that carry Vietnamese clothing, but I am not sure that I have ever had any clothes made from Thailand, if I have, I guess I wasn't aware of it. I will have to look the next time I buy something to see what the label says. It is always interesting to find out where clothing is coming from. I think like 95 percent of the clothing sold here comes from Asia.
@Corzhens, Sure I will keep that in mind and message you, you can be my Greenhills "shopping guide", lol. They are indeed cheap. I live in the southern part of Manila, so I don't get to go to that area.
Yay, thank you for sharing this information! I have seen lots of clothes from other countries in Greenhills before. My sister's former boss actually has a stall in Greenhills as well and she also gets supplies from Thailand/Bangkok. But from what I know, she personally visits Thailand to replenish her supplies, instead of the supplier shipping the products into our country. And yes, I love the clothes she sells, they're very durable, has soft fabrics and the styles are great for our tropical country. The problem I have with Greenhills is that they don't allow haggling anymore. The last time I went there, it was Christmas season and it was full of people. But sadly, no matter which store I go to, they don't allow me to haggle and they have "fixed" prices. Meaning, the price of an item in one stall is going to be the same in all stalls. So it really defeats the purpose of buying there because they're not that affordable anymore. Maybe it's because it was Christmas time at that time. Hmmm... I'll definitely go back and look for the stall you're suggesting. I sure wish haggling is allowed in there again so I can enjoy shopping. Lol.
@Briannagodess, there are different areas in Greenhills and if you get inside, some makeshift stores there are syndicated, meaning they have a standard price so you cannot haggle. But in Virra Mall - that's the building just beside the Greenhills Theater - there are still the "bodega sale" which is translated as warehouse sale. Those stalls are mostly owned by travelers, those merchants who themselves go abroad to buy what they sell. And they can give you a good price is you know how to haggle amicably.
@Corzhens Thank you for the tip! I usually go to both places, Greenhills itself and the Virra Mall. But I allot more time for the Greenhill Shopping Mall thinking that it can have more offers for me. I think it's great that there's lots of stalls and merchandise in it but if the prices are already fixed, it is hard to enjoy shopping. Even my husband said that the prices there can be compared to normal malls, much like SM or Trinoma. So what's even the use of going there, if we can just go to the said malls? Anyway, I find that Virra Mall has less merchandise and stalls. But that's great, that you can still haggle in there. I mean, almost all stalls in Greenhills Shopping Mall have their duplicates anyway so it means that many of the stalls are just copycat ones. I"m okay with less merchandise and stalls as long as they're of good quality and of course, I can haggle.
